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Marine Recruit Dies in Training; Interview With Richard Petty

Aired February 18, 2005 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Checking the news right now, an FDA advisory panel looking into the safety of Celebrex and other popular painkillers says Celebrex and Bextra do significantly increase the risk of heart problems, but, it adds, those risks do not warrant pulling the drug off the market. No word yet on whether the panel is recommending any special warnings. We expect a recommendation concerning Vioxx and Bextra some time today.
Well, it was one of the centerpieces of President Bush's reelection campaign. Today, Mr. Bush signed legislation to slow what he calls America's lawsuit culture. Dubbed the Class-Action Fairness Act, the new law will shift many class-action suits from state to federal court. Critics call it a payback to big business.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: New Jersey's attorney general is going after Blockbuster. He accuses the video rental chain of deceptive advertising. And, on January 1, Blockbuster stopped charging traditional late fees. But the lawsuit says consumers are being charged other fees for returning videos and games more than one week after they're due.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist won't be there when the Supreme Court returns next week for the second half of its term. He's been working mostly from home since October, when he was hospitalized with thyroid cancer. The court says Rehnquist will skip two weeks of oral arguments, but will continue to read transcripts and vote on decisions.

First this hour, the violent split in Iraq between the formerly dominated Sunnis and the newly ascendant Shiites. In Baghdad, more than two dozen were killed today in bomb attacks apparently targeting Shia observing a meaningful holiday. The explosion struck two Shiite mosques and a religious procession. And a fourth bomb exploded at a security checkpoint. And an hour ago, a car bomb attack south of the city. There were three casualties. In addition, the military reports the death of five more Americans.

One was killed Wednesday. Two died Thursday and two more were killed today.

O'BRIEN: Now the disturbing story of a Marine Corps recruit who died during training at Parris Island, South Carolina. Then days ago, recruit Jason Tharp, an admittedly poor swimmer, took an aquatics test. And according to the Marines, Tharp drowned. By sheer coincidence, a CNN affiliate was filming at Parris Island on the day before the death. It came away with footage of the young recruit, Tharp, as we said, disturbing. The reporter is Heather Brown, the station WIS in Columbia, South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEATHER BROWN, WIS-TV REPORTER (voice-over): We caught Jason Tharp in a tense interaction with a drill instructor. We were far away and couldn't hear what was going on. A few minutes later, we saw this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They usually want to get back to training...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because a lot of them have never been (OFF- MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And sitting up in the brig and realizing that, oh, my God...

BROWN: Jason disappears. When he comes back -- and that's where our video ends. Twenty-four hours later, Jason dies. Preliminary reports say he drowned at this pool.

JOHN THARP, FATHER OF JASON THARP: Oh, let's see. Yes.

BROWN: We traveled to West Virginia to show Jason's family what we saw at Parris Island. Johnny Tharp told us about his son, a quiet young man who loved art and worked at Wendy's before heading to boot camp.

THARP: He was just the kindest, gentlest person I ever knew. We can't understand why, and my little girl, all she knows is her big brother's in heaven.

BROWN: There's a lot the family doesn't understand about Jason's death. They were especially upset about the drill instructor grabbing and having other contact with their son.

THARP: I don't know how they could treat my son the way we saw in that video. He never hurt nobody. He would do anything anybody asked him. It's just not right.

BROWN: A different drill instructor told us that day that Jason was being belligerent and refusing to train. He also told us Jason wanted out. Jason's parents say that's true. That he sent home seven letters during his five-week stay telling his parents he'd made a mistake.

THARP: We just wanted to go down there right then and get him and bring him home.

BROWN: The last letter Jason sent was postmarked February 2. In it, he wrote he was starting the swim qualifications the next day.

(on camera): Did Jason know how to swim?

THARP: Not very good, but they assured us, the recruiter said that nothing would happen, they have enough people in the pool where nothing would happen to him.

BROWN (voice-over): But something did. The Tharps won't know what until the Marine's investigation is complete. That could take weeks. Right now, they are too sad to be angry. The heartbreak is still so raw.

THARP: That just -- I swear to God, I don't want this to happen to another family. It's the hardest thing we've ever had to do, bury our son.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Once again, that report from Heather Brown of CNN affiliate WIS in Columbia, South Carolina.

CNN is making inquiries on the story to officials at the Pentagon. We'll keep you posted on it.

PHILLIPS: Well, for CNN "Security Watch" this hour, we turn to the sky and those assigned to protect airlines and the flying public.

O'BRIEN: Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, with a closer look at how air marshals are trained and how they carry out their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officer -- drop the gun!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, good, good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll help! I'll help!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down!

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a mock aircraft, Tom practices for the day he hopes will never come, the day when he, a federal Air Marshal has to deal with a terrorist.

TOM, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL: Let me say this, nobody wants to use a fireman on board an aircraft. It's not going to be a good day for anybody. There's a lot of down side to it. But if that's what's needed, that's what you do.

MESERVE: Because he works undercover, we cannot show you his face or tell you his full name.

TOM: I'm a federal air marshal. I need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to do anything like that.

TOM: Put your hands behind your back.

MESERVE: He once worked for the Secret Service, but his life, like so many others, was changed on 9/11.

TOM: The question runs through your head, what could I have done had I been one of the aircraft?

MESERVE: Though he may look like any other traveler, Tom carries a loaded . 357 magnum. At Washington's Dulles Airport, he boards his Jet Blue flight to Fort Lauderdale before other passengers to search for weapons and explosives and to meet and brief the flight crew.

TOM: There are no specific threats against this airline or any others at this time.

MESERVE: Though air marshals never fly without at least 1 partner, as passengers board, Tom scans for potential allies.

TOM: I just size people up. And I guess in a nutshell, I'm looking for help. Worse case scenario, who I think I can count on. You look for a face, and what you see in that, in the eyes. And I'm looking for, perhaps, military uniform. I'm looking for things of that nature, somebody with a military hair cut, possibly. Maybe somebody with an NYPD T-shirt on.

MESERVE: He is also on the lookout for terrorists.

TOM: We're looking for any suspicious behavior, anybody who is acting irregular.

MESERVE: Tom notices a restroom right next to the cockpit has been occupied an unusually long time. At Tom's suggestion, a flight attendant knocks. A man comes out. Tom goes in to see if weapons, or explosives have been hidden. He finds nothing.

Tom has never arrested a suspected terrorist, but wonders if he has seen them rehearsing.

TOM: Certainly, yes, there's been times where I've been uncomfortable, had a not-so-comfortable feeling and wondered if it was perhaps a test run and that's rare, very rare. There's a tremendous amount of monotony in this. And it's much like Groundhog Day.

MESERVE: He can read, but music, movies and sleep are forbidden.

TOM: Very often we need to come up with cover stories of what we do. Sometimes I'll think of the most boring job I can think of with the hope that they won't pursue it with any more questions, you know? A lot of times I say him I'm an accountant, but then you run the danger of that person being an accountant.

MESERVE: This is Tom's life: airborne 80 hours a month. Critics say air marshals can be picked out because of their dress code and early boarding. Tom doesn't completely disagree. While he can dress like other passengers, he admits that boarding is a problem.

TOM: Walking down that gangplank before everyone else lets many people know who you are, that you're special, you're different.

MESERVE: Though their exact number is classified, there are not enough air marshals for the 27,000 flights made every day by U.S. carriers, so they pick their flights.

(on camera): This Airbus A-320 is the exact type of aircraft an air marshal might be on. It's pretty big, carries a lot of fuel, and it's flying in and out of New York, a known terrorist target.

(voice-over): At the air marshals' command center, where deployment decisions are made, the latest intelligence is factored in. John Novak runs the operation.

JOHN NOVAK, AIR MARSHAL COMMAND CENTER: We have no credible evidence that threats or surveillance activity or suspicious activity is occurring, but we have no information, credible information suggesting that it's not.

MESERVE: The operation center relays intelligence directly to air marshals via wireless devices, but they do not work in the air, a real problem if a crisis erupts, admits Thomas Quinn, the director of the federal air marshal program.

THOMAS QUINN, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL PROGRAM: We to this day communicate through the flight deck of the aircraft. So there is a means of communication, but it's not as rapid or robust as we would like.

MESERVE: The operation center has secure communications with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado. NORAD can scramble jets in an emergency, though Tom feels he and other air marshals can handle things on their own.

TOM: God forbid something happens. We're going to solve that. We're going to have the solution up there and they're not going to have to call upon the F-16s to bring that plane down.

MESERVE: It is hard to know if air marshals are as effective as Tom believes. Whether it's because the presence of air marshals has been a deterrent of terrorists or because of other layers of security, there hasn't been a hijacking since 9/11.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Be sure to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Bumping on the track, throwing water bottles. And infield summit, it must be.

PHILLIPS: The Daytona 500. That's right. We're two days out. The drama has started. And we've got the king, Richard Petty, with us live straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: Richard Petty is here, yessiree, Bob.

And if these women gain some weight, they could lose their jobs. That brouhaha a little later in the show, as we keep you abreast of all developments.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you had to go there.

O'BRIEN: Sorry.

PHILLIPS: You have hit the bottom.

O'BRIEN: I had to do it. I'm sorry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a big weekend, and not just for those of you planning elaborate President's Day costume parties.

Miles, are you listening? It's race weekend, Daytona 500. NASCAR season is off with a roar. The twin 150s ran yesterday. Daytona Beach looks like an R.V. convention. And Richard Petty is on CNN, all of which makes race weekend official.

Seven-day Daytona champ Richard Petty, the king, joins me right now. And I hope he can hear me through the wind and through the engines.

Hi, Richard.

RICHARD PETTY, FORMER STOCK CAR RACER: Yes, I hear you.

PHILLIPS: OK, good.

PETTY: OK.

PHILLIPS: Hey, now, we were going back in the history books, now, back to 1964, when you got your first win there at Daytona. Why don't you take us back and tell it what -- tell us what it was like.

PETTY: Well, it was great, first super speedway race I ran, first time Chrysler had come with a Hemi engine and we blowed everybody away. It was, you know, just the start of what we've been able to do here at Daytona. That was my first Daytona 500 win. And my father had won in 1959, when they first opened the track. And that was the first chance I got to win. And it had to be big because it was Daytona 500.

PHILLIPS: Of course. And dad's been a big influence, daddy Lee, right?

PETTY: Yes.

You know, he got started back when NASCAR Cup racing first started in '49. And I just sort of hung around all those years. And when I got old enough, I started driving. And, you know, sort of like Kyle. When he got old enough, he started driving. So it's just been kind of a family affair.

PHILLIPS: So, we got this old picture of No. 43 from decades back. Things have changed quite a bit between that car and the car you have now.

PETTY: Oh, yes. You know, we used to go to the showroom and buy a car and convert it over, take off everything you didn't want and make a race car out of it. Now these cars are strictly race cars.

The technology in racing is just tremendous from what it was 10, 15, 20 years ago. And so, you know, all the cars pretty much look alike. NASCAR's done a good job of, you know, trying to make everybody on an even keel and keep everybody the same way, as far as the weights and the way the cars look and the way they're shaped and their aerodynamics and all that stuff.

So, just -- it makes it that much tougher. There's that much -- many more cars now got a chance to win than what they used to have.

PHILLIPS: Well, look, besides technology, I want to talk booze and brawling with you, OK? Let's start with the brawling and what happened we saw just a couple days ago between Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick and the multi-car accident.

What do you make of this, Richard? Because there was a time where you just didn't fight. You didn't want to upset your sponsors. You wanted to get along. And it's not just duking it on out on a basketball court. We're talking about cars and lives.

PETTY: Yes, it's really a little bit different than that. They don't let them fight now. If that had been 20 years ago, there would have been a brawl right in the middle of the racetrack.

And we didn't have the sponsors and stuff that we really had to please then. We were pleasing ourselves and the fans. But, again, it's got so much technical now. You can't even go to the bathroom without a TV camera following you. So, people have to be careful of what they do and what they say now because of the sponsors.

PHILLIPS: Well, I want to talk to you about, speaking of sponsors, the liquor ads. Now, I know your mom and your dad have instilled some very strong values in you and they've never wanted you to have those liquor ads or booze ads on your car. What do you think about the changes now, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, these others?

PETTY: Well, you know, I guess it's a trend of the time. I'm not really for it from that standpoint. And, you know, I always looked at NASCAR being a family affair, our family, NASCAR family, bunch of Jarretts and Pearsons and Parsons, you know, the Yarbroughs. A bunch of those people were just family-oriented, two or three generations running.

And NASCAR is a big family. And then, when they turn around and really, you know, got the liquor sponsorship, that to me kind of interferes with the family part of it. So, you know, some of the -- I guess it's good for the guys that don't have sponsors to be able to get them as sponsors. But for the overall health of the sport, I don't see no pluses in it. But we'll just have to wait and see on that, too.

PHILLIPS: So, how do you keep the family affair type of attitude and character and morality still in the sport?

PETTY: Well, you know, you got to figure that we run 36 races a year and we are all at the racetrack at the same time on weekends, especially during the summer. All the guys bring their kids, bring their dogs, cats, everything else.

(LAUGHTER)

PETTY: But, you know, it's just -- and they all -- they all come in motor homes and they all park in one place, so it's just a little crowd that just goes everywhere.

And, you know, even though the fathers might be fighting on the racetrack, the kids is usually playing football or something in the infield. So, again, it's just a family-oriented operation.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you -- you keep telling those young boys to follow the rules like you do.

Richard Petty, we'll be watching No. 43. Great talking to you today.

PETTY: Thank you, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: All right.

I love that. Ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: I love that. Thank you ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Yes, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: He's such a gentleman.

O'BRIEN: I'm going to start calling you ma'am.

PHILLIPS: Yes, right.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I am, Kyra, whatever you say.

PHILLIPS: We're going to check on the markets straight ahead.

And also...

O'BRIEN: Yes, ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Also, they keep their figures or they lose their jobs, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: Yes, ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Is that discrimination?

PHILLIPS: Yes, sir.

O'BRIEN: Yessiree, Bob, controversy in Atlantic City when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: If it's good enough for jockeys and boxers -- I'm not talking underwear here -- folks, why shouldn't it be good enough for cocktail servers?

PHILLIPS: Well, one Atlantic City casino has its staff shaken and perhaps stirred to action over a new job requirement concerning their weight. This is for real.

Nora Muchanic from affiliate WPVI with more on the fat hitting the fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN ESHLEMAN, CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY: They're well-endowed girls around here, the cocktail waitresses. It makes you want a cocktail even more.

NORA MUCHANIC, WPVI REPORTER (voice-over): They're called Borgata Babes, cocktail waitresses who work on the floor of Atlantic City's newest casino serving drinks in sexy outfits. But keeping their figures is now a requirement for keeping their jobs. Beginning Monday, about 200 waitresses will be forced to weigh in. And if they gain more than 7 percent of that body weight, they'll be suspended and fired if they don't lose the pounds.

CATHY FIREMAN, BORGATA TALENT VICE PRESIDENT: We feel they're really part of our brand here, of an upscale, international, energetic, sensual Borgata environment that we've created for our customers, and it's what our customers have come to expect of us.

SARAH SENZINO, STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK: I think it's what men want to see. They want to see that body. They want to see that cocktail waitress, that sexy cocktail waitress.

MUCHANIC: It means if a waitress weighs in at 115 and gains more than 8 pounds, she'll be in trouble. The Casino Workers Union has filed a grievance, and critics, including some customers, say it is downright discriminatory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely unfair. You can't have weight restrictions on -- I mean, if it doesn't affect the job, it's discriminatory. DOLLY MARONE, VINELAND, NEW JERSEY: I don't think that's right. I think it's discriminating. That's not right. I could see if you gain 40 pounds or something where you won't fit in the costume.

MUCHANIC: The waitresses weren't allowed to talk to us, but have said privately they're outraged.

ROBERT LEE: I think that's a little extreme. Why should they get fired because they gain a little weight? Just give them a little bigger costume.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: There you go. Just give me a bigger costume.

O'BRIEN: That's right. And some customers might prefer that anyway. So, anyway, reporter Nora Muchanic weighing in on that story, as we would say, from WPVI.

PHILLIPS: We're going to completely go to a separate subject, so we don't upset Judy Woodruff, and talk politics now.

O'BRIEN: Segue space here.

PHILLIPS: That's right.

O'BRIEN: We're building segue time and space.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: That wraps up this edition of LIVE FROM for the week.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired February 18, 2005 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Checking the news right now, an FDA advisory panel looking into the safety of Celebrex and other popular painkillers says Celebrex and Bextra do significantly increase the risk of heart problems, but, it adds, those risks do not warrant pulling the drug off the market. No word yet on whether the panel is recommending any special warnings. We expect a recommendation concerning Vioxx and Bextra some time today.
Well, it was one of the centerpieces of President Bush's reelection campaign. Today, Mr. Bush signed legislation to slow what he calls America's lawsuit culture. Dubbed the Class-Action Fairness Act, the new law will shift many class-action suits from state to federal court. Critics call it a payback to big business.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: New Jersey's attorney general is going after Blockbuster. He accuses the video rental chain of deceptive advertising. And, on January 1, Blockbuster stopped charging traditional late fees. But the lawsuit says consumers are being charged other fees for returning videos and games more than one week after they're due.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist won't be there when the Supreme Court returns next week for the second half of its term. He's been working mostly from home since October, when he was hospitalized with thyroid cancer. The court says Rehnquist will skip two weeks of oral arguments, but will continue to read transcripts and vote on decisions.

First this hour, the violent split in Iraq between the formerly dominated Sunnis and the newly ascendant Shiites. In Baghdad, more than two dozen were killed today in bomb attacks apparently targeting Shia observing a meaningful holiday. The explosion struck two Shiite mosques and a religious procession. And a fourth bomb exploded at a security checkpoint. And an hour ago, a car bomb attack south of the city. There were three casualties. In addition, the military reports the death of five more Americans.

One was killed Wednesday. Two died Thursday and two more were killed today.

O'BRIEN: Now the disturbing story of a Marine Corps recruit who died during training at Parris Island, South Carolina. Then days ago, recruit Jason Tharp, an admittedly poor swimmer, took an aquatics test. And according to the Marines, Tharp drowned. By sheer coincidence, a CNN affiliate was filming at Parris Island on the day before the death. It came away with footage of the young recruit, Tharp, as we said, disturbing. The reporter is Heather Brown, the station WIS in Columbia, South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEATHER BROWN, WIS-TV REPORTER (voice-over): We caught Jason Tharp in a tense interaction with a drill instructor. We were far away and couldn't hear what was going on. A few minutes later, we saw this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They usually want to get back to training...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because a lot of them have never been (OFF- MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And sitting up in the brig and realizing that, oh, my God...

BROWN: Jason disappears. When he comes back -- and that's where our video ends. Twenty-four hours later, Jason dies. Preliminary reports say he drowned at this pool.

JOHN THARP, FATHER OF JASON THARP: Oh, let's see. Yes.

BROWN: We traveled to West Virginia to show Jason's family what we saw at Parris Island. Johnny Tharp told us about his son, a quiet young man who loved art and worked at Wendy's before heading to boot camp.

THARP: He was just the kindest, gentlest person I ever knew. We can't understand why, and my little girl, all she knows is her big brother's in heaven.

BROWN: There's a lot the family doesn't understand about Jason's death. They were especially upset about the drill instructor grabbing and having other contact with their son.

THARP: I don't know how they could treat my son the way we saw in that video. He never hurt nobody. He would do anything anybody asked him. It's just not right.

BROWN: A different drill instructor told us that day that Jason was being belligerent and refusing to train. He also told us Jason wanted out. Jason's parents say that's true. That he sent home seven letters during his five-week stay telling his parents he'd made a mistake.

THARP: We just wanted to go down there right then and get him and bring him home.

BROWN: The last letter Jason sent was postmarked February 2. In it, he wrote he was starting the swim qualifications the next day.

(on camera): Did Jason know how to swim?

THARP: Not very good, but they assured us, the recruiter said that nothing would happen, they have enough people in the pool where nothing would happen to him.

BROWN (voice-over): But something did. The Tharps won't know what until the Marine's investigation is complete. That could take weeks. Right now, they are too sad to be angry. The heartbreak is still so raw.

THARP: That just -- I swear to God, I don't want this to happen to another family. It's the hardest thing we've ever had to do, bury our son.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Once again, that report from Heather Brown of CNN affiliate WIS in Columbia, South Carolina.

CNN is making inquiries on the story to officials at the Pentagon. We'll keep you posted on it.

PHILLIPS: Well, for CNN "Security Watch" this hour, we turn to the sky and those assigned to protect airlines and the flying public.

O'BRIEN: Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, with a closer look at how air marshals are trained and how they carry out their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police officer -- drop the gun!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, good, good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll help! I'll help!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down!

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a mock aircraft, Tom practices for the day he hopes will never come, the day when he, a federal Air Marshal has to deal with a terrorist.

TOM, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL: Let me say this, nobody wants to use a fireman on board an aircraft. It's not going to be a good day for anybody. There's a lot of down side to it. But if that's what's needed, that's what you do.

MESERVE: Because he works undercover, we cannot show you his face or tell you his full name.

TOM: I'm a federal air marshal. I need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to do anything like that.

TOM: Put your hands behind your back.

MESERVE: He once worked for the Secret Service, but his life, like so many others, was changed on 9/11.

TOM: The question runs through your head, what could I have done had I been one of the aircraft?

MESERVE: Though he may look like any other traveler, Tom carries a loaded . 357 magnum. At Washington's Dulles Airport, he boards his Jet Blue flight to Fort Lauderdale before other passengers to search for weapons and explosives and to meet and brief the flight crew.

TOM: There are no specific threats against this airline or any others at this time.

MESERVE: Though air marshals never fly without at least 1 partner, as passengers board, Tom scans for potential allies.

TOM: I just size people up. And I guess in a nutshell, I'm looking for help. Worse case scenario, who I think I can count on. You look for a face, and what you see in that, in the eyes. And I'm looking for, perhaps, military uniform. I'm looking for things of that nature, somebody with a military hair cut, possibly. Maybe somebody with an NYPD T-shirt on.

MESERVE: He is also on the lookout for terrorists.

TOM: We're looking for any suspicious behavior, anybody who is acting irregular.

MESERVE: Tom notices a restroom right next to the cockpit has been occupied an unusually long time. At Tom's suggestion, a flight attendant knocks. A man comes out. Tom goes in to see if weapons, or explosives have been hidden. He finds nothing.

Tom has never arrested a suspected terrorist, but wonders if he has seen them rehearsing.

TOM: Certainly, yes, there's been times where I've been uncomfortable, had a not-so-comfortable feeling and wondered if it was perhaps a test run and that's rare, very rare. There's a tremendous amount of monotony in this. And it's much like Groundhog Day.

MESERVE: He can read, but music, movies and sleep are forbidden.

TOM: Very often we need to come up with cover stories of what we do. Sometimes I'll think of the most boring job I can think of with the hope that they won't pursue it with any more questions, you know? A lot of times I say him I'm an accountant, but then you run the danger of that person being an accountant.

MESERVE: This is Tom's life: airborne 80 hours a month. Critics say air marshals can be picked out because of their dress code and early boarding. Tom doesn't completely disagree. While he can dress like other passengers, he admits that boarding is a problem.

TOM: Walking down that gangplank before everyone else lets many people know who you are, that you're special, you're different.

MESERVE: Though their exact number is classified, there are not enough air marshals for the 27,000 flights made every day by U.S. carriers, so they pick their flights.

(on camera): This Airbus A-320 is the exact type of aircraft an air marshal might be on. It's pretty big, carries a lot of fuel, and it's flying in and out of New York, a known terrorist target.

(voice-over): At the air marshals' command center, where deployment decisions are made, the latest intelligence is factored in. John Novak runs the operation.

JOHN NOVAK, AIR MARSHAL COMMAND CENTER: We have no credible evidence that threats or surveillance activity or suspicious activity is occurring, but we have no information, credible information suggesting that it's not.

MESERVE: The operation center relays intelligence directly to air marshals via wireless devices, but they do not work in the air, a real problem if a crisis erupts, admits Thomas Quinn, the director of the federal air marshal program.

THOMAS QUINN, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL PROGRAM: We to this day communicate through the flight deck of the aircraft. So there is a means of communication, but it's not as rapid or robust as we would like.

MESERVE: The operation center has secure communications with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado. NORAD can scramble jets in an emergency, though Tom feels he and other air marshals can handle things on their own.

TOM: God forbid something happens. We're going to solve that. We're going to have the solution up there and they're not going to have to call upon the F-16s to bring that plane down.

MESERVE: It is hard to know if air marshals are as effective as Tom believes. Whether it's because the presence of air marshals has been a deterrent of terrorists or because of other layers of security, there hasn't been a hijacking since 9/11.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Be sure to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Bumping on the track, throwing water bottles. And infield summit, it must be.

PHILLIPS: The Daytona 500. That's right. We're two days out. The drama has started. And we've got the king, Richard Petty, with us live straight ahead.

O'BRIEN: Richard Petty is here, yessiree, Bob.

And if these women gain some weight, they could lose their jobs. That brouhaha a little later in the show, as we keep you abreast of all developments.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you had to go there.

O'BRIEN: Sorry.

PHILLIPS: You have hit the bottom.

O'BRIEN: I had to do it. I'm sorry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a big weekend, and not just for those of you planning elaborate President's Day costume parties.

Miles, are you listening? It's race weekend, Daytona 500. NASCAR season is off with a roar. The twin 150s ran yesterday. Daytona Beach looks like an R.V. convention. And Richard Petty is on CNN, all of which makes race weekend official.

Seven-day Daytona champ Richard Petty, the king, joins me right now. And I hope he can hear me through the wind and through the engines.

Hi, Richard.

RICHARD PETTY, FORMER STOCK CAR RACER: Yes, I hear you.

PHILLIPS: OK, good.

PETTY: OK.

PHILLIPS: Hey, now, we were going back in the history books, now, back to 1964, when you got your first win there at Daytona. Why don't you take us back and tell it what -- tell us what it was like.

PETTY: Well, it was great, first super speedway race I ran, first time Chrysler had come with a Hemi engine and we blowed everybody away. It was, you know, just the start of what we've been able to do here at Daytona. That was my first Daytona 500 win. And my father had won in 1959, when they first opened the track. And that was the first chance I got to win. And it had to be big because it was Daytona 500.

PHILLIPS: Of course. And dad's been a big influence, daddy Lee, right?

PETTY: Yes.

You know, he got started back when NASCAR Cup racing first started in '49. And I just sort of hung around all those years. And when I got old enough, I started driving. And, you know, sort of like Kyle. When he got old enough, he started driving. So it's just been kind of a family affair.

PHILLIPS: So, we got this old picture of No. 43 from decades back. Things have changed quite a bit between that car and the car you have now.

PETTY: Oh, yes. You know, we used to go to the showroom and buy a car and convert it over, take off everything you didn't want and make a race car out of it. Now these cars are strictly race cars.

The technology in racing is just tremendous from what it was 10, 15, 20 years ago. And so, you know, all the cars pretty much look alike. NASCAR's done a good job of, you know, trying to make everybody on an even keel and keep everybody the same way, as far as the weights and the way the cars look and the way they're shaped and their aerodynamics and all that stuff.

So, just -- it makes it that much tougher. There's that much -- many more cars now got a chance to win than what they used to have.

PHILLIPS: Well, look, besides technology, I want to talk booze and brawling with you, OK? Let's start with the brawling and what happened we saw just a couple days ago between Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick and the multi-car accident.

What do you make of this, Richard? Because there was a time where you just didn't fight. You didn't want to upset your sponsors. You wanted to get along. And it's not just duking it on out on a basketball court. We're talking about cars and lives.

PETTY: Yes, it's really a little bit different than that. They don't let them fight now. If that had been 20 years ago, there would have been a brawl right in the middle of the racetrack.

And we didn't have the sponsors and stuff that we really had to please then. We were pleasing ourselves and the fans. But, again, it's got so much technical now. You can't even go to the bathroom without a TV camera following you. So, people have to be careful of what they do and what they say now because of the sponsors.

PHILLIPS: Well, I want to talk to you about, speaking of sponsors, the liquor ads. Now, I know your mom and your dad have instilled some very strong values in you and they've never wanted you to have those liquor ads or booze ads on your car. What do you think about the changes now, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, these others?

PETTY: Well, you know, I guess it's a trend of the time. I'm not really for it from that standpoint. And, you know, I always looked at NASCAR being a family affair, our family, NASCAR family, bunch of Jarretts and Pearsons and Parsons, you know, the Yarbroughs. A bunch of those people were just family-oriented, two or three generations running.

And NASCAR is a big family. And then, when they turn around and really, you know, got the liquor sponsorship, that to me kind of interferes with the family part of it. So, you know, some of the -- I guess it's good for the guys that don't have sponsors to be able to get them as sponsors. But for the overall health of the sport, I don't see no pluses in it. But we'll just have to wait and see on that, too.

PHILLIPS: So, how do you keep the family affair type of attitude and character and morality still in the sport?

PETTY: Well, you know, you got to figure that we run 36 races a year and we are all at the racetrack at the same time on weekends, especially during the summer. All the guys bring their kids, bring their dogs, cats, everything else.

(LAUGHTER)

PETTY: But, you know, it's just -- and they all -- they all come in motor homes and they all park in one place, so it's just a little crowd that just goes everywhere.

And, you know, even though the fathers might be fighting on the racetrack, the kids is usually playing football or something in the infield. So, again, it's just a family-oriented operation.

PHILLIPS: Oh, you -- you keep telling those young boys to follow the rules like you do.

Richard Petty, we'll be watching No. 43. Great talking to you today.

PETTY: Thank you, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: All right.

I love that. Ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: I love that. Thank you ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Yes, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: He's such a gentleman.

O'BRIEN: I'm going to start calling you ma'am.

PHILLIPS: Yes, right.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I am, Kyra, whatever you say.

PHILLIPS: We're going to check on the markets straight ahead.

And also...

O'BRIEN: Yes, ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Also, they keep their figures or they lose their jobs, ma'am.

PHILLIPS: Yes, ma'am.

O'BRIEN: Is that discrimination?

PHILLIPS: Yes, sir.

O'BRIEN: Yessiree, Bob, controversy in Atlantic City when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: If it's good enough for jockeys and boxers -- I'm not talking underwear here -- folks, why shouldn't it be good enough for cocktail servers?

PHILLIPS: Well, one Atlantic City casino has its staff shaken and perhaps stirred to action over a new job requirement concerning their weight. This is for real.

Nora Muchanic from affiliate WPVI with more on the fat hitting the fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN ESHLEMAN, CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY: They're well-endowed girls around here, the cocktail waitresses. It makes you want a cocktail even more.

NORA MUCHANIC, WPVI REPORTER (voice-over): They're called Borgata Babes, cocktail waitresses who work on the floor of Atlantic City's newest casino serving drinks in sexy outfits. But keeping their figures is now a requirement for keeping their jobs. Beginning Monday, about 200 waitresses will be forced to weigh in. And if they gain more than 7 percent of that body weight, they'll be suspended and fired if they don't lose the pounds.

CATHY FIREMAN, BORGATA TALENT VICE PRESIDENT: We feel they're really part of our brand here, of an upscale, international, energetic, sensual Borgata environment that we've created for our customers, and it's what our customers have come to expect of us.

SARAH SENZINO, STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK: I think it's what men want to see. They want to see that body. They want to see that cocktail waitress, that sexy cocktail waitress.

MUCHANIC: It means if a waitress weighs in at 115 and gains more than 8 pounds, she'll be in trouble. The Casino Workers Union has filed a grievance, and critics, including some customers, say it is downright discriminatory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely unfair. You can't have weight restrictions on -- I mean, if it doesn't affect the job, it's discriminatory. DOLLY MARONE, VINELAND, NEW JERSEY: I don't think that's right. I think it's discriminating. That's not right. I could see if you gain 40 pounds or something where you won't fit in the costume.

MUCHANIC: The waitresses weren't allowed to talk to us, but have said privately they're outraged.

ROBERT LEE: I think that's a little extreme. Why should they get fired because they gain a little weight? Just give them a little bigger costume.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: There you go. Just give me a bigger costume.

O'BRIEN: That's right. And some customers might prefer that anyway. So, anyway, reporter Nora Muchanic weighing in on that story, as we would say, from WPVI.

PHILLIPS: We're going to completely go to a separate subject, so we don't upset Judy Woodruff, and talk politics now.

O'BRIEN: Segue space here.

PHILLIPS: That's right.

O'BRIEN: We're building segue time and space.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: That wraps up this edition of LIVE FROM for the week.

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